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AJWS Grantee Wins $100,000 Grinnell Young innovator for Social Justice Prize New York; May 15, 2011—James Kofi Annan, founder and executive director of AJWS grantee Challenging Heights, knows the impact of a lost childhood. And, as an adult, he has dedicated his life to protecting kids in his native Ghana from the same types of …Read More

In his speech entitled, “The Modern Development Enterprise,” delivered at an event hosted by the Center for Global Development, USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah praised AJWS’s international development work.

AJWS is accepting applications from Jewish young adults throughout the U.S. for its 18th Volunteer Summer program. The year-long service-learning program brings participants, between the ages of 16 and 24, to developing countries where they live and work alongside grassroots non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for seven weeks to learn about international development principles and the Jewish tradition of tikkun olam.

Dvar Tzedek

Anu Mokal was four months pregnant the night policemen brutally assaulted her at a bus stop in Satara, India. They beat her so severely that she suffered a miscarriage. When she later filed a complaint against them, no investigation took place, despite the presence of witnesses. Why? Because she was a sex worker, and the policemen—who had charged her with soliciting clients at the bus stop—were just ‘doing their job.’

Since 2007, more than 20 workers committed suicide at the Shenzhen, China factory of the Foxconn Corporation, a partner of Apple and major producer of iPhones worldwide.[1] In an article for Wired Magazine, Joel Johnson asks whether his incessant desire for the latest gadget contributed to these deaths in a factory that China Labor Watch reports provides overtime and employee amenities, yet is known for grueling hours and intense employee pressure.[2] Johnson writes…

Anu Mokal was four months pregnant the night policemen brutally assaulted her at a bus stop in Satara, India. They beat her so severely that she suffered a miscarriage. When she later filed a complaint against them, no investigation took place, despite the presence of witnesses. Why? Because she was a sex worker, and the …Read More

Last year, as part of an alternative Rosh Hashanah service I attended, we discussed one of the central themes of the holiday—kingship. It was interesting to note how many of us ‘moderns’ struggle with the concept of an external authority who is judging us and then determining our destiny. Many of the participants spoke about …Read More

The conversations at the seder table tend to stay with me long after the proclamations of “Next year in Jerusalem” have stopped echoing in my ears, as I draw new inspiration every year from the Israelites’ bondage-to-freedom narrative. This year, I found myself confronted with an issue that dug deeper than usual. Helping us relate …Read More